North Ribblesdale 22 Scarborough 50

DESPITE a spirited performance, North Ribblesdale were relegated from Yorkshire Division One as they went down to an impressive Scarborough team, who are chasing promotion.

Ribb are in a rebuilding phase and need to look at bringing in young players in a less harsh environment than Division One.

Ribb won the toss on a perfect day for rugby but were soon behind to a try from the Scarborough right winger.

However Ribb soon regrouped. They kicked off and Adam Middleton won the ball in the air, forcing a penalty. David Fox took a quick tap and got away from the defence, putting Sam Morphet in for an unconverted try.

Scarborough then scored twice through the centre and both tries were converted to stretch their lead to 19-5.

Fox was soon back into the action though, breaking from the scrum to score a brilliant individual try. That was converted by Mick Thwaite to make it 19-12.

The second half saw Scarborough go up a gear and though Jonny Moore scored a try and Thwaite got the conversion and a long penalty to get Ribb to 22 points. Scarborough scored steadily to stretch their score to 50 at full time.

A spirited game from Ribb was not enough as they continue to struggle to turn possession into points. The front five were combative though, with Richard Lynn to the fore and Adam Middleton improving every game.

The back row was also strong but Ribb do not have enough bite outside. The ball is very slow and the pace at wing and full back tends to be underused.

This week Ribb face fellow strugglers Wheatley Hills at home, whose results have improved of late.

If Ribb win, Wheatley will be relegated. Otherwise Selby may be the ones facing the drop. It should be a good combative game, with Ribb wanting a good finish to the season and Wheatley Hills having a real chance of avoiding demotion.